Weekly Newsletter

Monster Of The Month: Loftandi, The Air Spirit

On a clear spring afternoon, a rumble was heard from the sky, similar to the sound of a large boat being dragged across gravel. It was heard widely across Suðurnes, in Keflavík, Grindavík, Garður and Hafnarfjörður. In Miðnes, a cloud bank was observed at a spear’s height above the horizon, drifting from the southeast to the southwest. It was dark at first but took on a pale pink hue as it approached the sun. According to the locals, the rumbling began when it had passed from view. When Kristinn Jakobeus heard of this, he remarked that his father had seen such a sight, and that it had been called an air spirit.

Our Monster of the Month comes from the project Duldýrasafnið (“Hidden Beings Museum”) by Arngrimur Sigurðsson. He takes firsthand accounts of creature sightings, like the one above, from Icelandic historical texts, and creates a painting of each one. An Icelandic book is out now, and an English language book is coming soon. Read our interview with the artist here.

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